Little Magic Dolls - Are They Automata ?
By Damon Atchison
I once saw on Ripley's Believe It Or Not, sometime in the late 1700s a
French clockmaker made two dolls which automatically played their
custom built insturments. The girl played her organ with a miniature
keyboard, and her hands accually moved along with each of her little
fingers and she played a song. She could also breathe. There was a boy
too, but he wasn't so great.
Does anyone know what those magic mystics in a box behind glass are
commonly referred to as? In the 1920s they were popular, you put a
nickel in their slot and their eyes lit up and the popped out a fortune
for you. I don't know how they worked, and that's precisely what I'd
like to know. Were they pnuematically operated?
Damon Atchison¶
Damon66@aol.com
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(Message sent Wed, 27 Nov 1996 20:20:03 -0500
, from time zone -0500.)
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